If one harbours anywhere in one's mind a nationalistic loyalty or hatred, certain facts, although in a sense known to be true, are inadmissible.
George OrwellRead
Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Political language manipulates truth to make falsehoods appear credible and to mask the emptiness of ideas.
George Orwell's quote emphasizes the deceptive nature of political language, suggesting that it is crafted to obscure reality by dressing lies in respectability and making insubstantial ideas appear substantial. This reflects the manipulation of words for political ends, where the truth becomes obscured by rhetoric, leading to a disillusionment with the language of power.
Themes
PoliticsLanguageManipulationTruthDeceptionRhetoric
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a political debate to highlight the importance of honesty in language.
More from George Orwell
All quotes βThe creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
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Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. To write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be politically orthodox.
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Not to expose your true feelings to an adult seems to be instinctive from the age of seven or eight onwards.
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As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.
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It is fatal to look hungry. It makes people want to kick you.
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